What do you think of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani?
I have heard some really bad stories about Abdul Wahab and how he disgraced the religion of Islam? What is your opinion on this?

Praise
be to Allaah.

When speaking about people, what
we say must be based on knowledge and fairness. In the case of a man who has
achieved a great deal in the way of religion, we must acknowledge his achievements,
but that does not prevent us from pointing out his mistakes. This general principle
is to be applied when speaking of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir al-Jilaani and
other Muslim scholars.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir (may
Allaah have mercy on him) is one of the imaams of Islam. He attained a position
of leadership over the Muslims of his time, in knowledge, good deeds, issuing
fatwas and other aspects of religion. He was one of the greatest shaykhs of
his time, enjoining adherence to the sharee’ah, enjoining what is good,
forbidding what is evil, and giving that precedence over all else. He was an
ascetic (zaahid) and a preacher, in whose gatherings many people repented. Allaah
caused him to be well-liked by people and his virtue became widely-known –
may Allaah bestow abundant mercy upon him.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir was
a follower, not an innovator. He followed the way of the righteous salaf and
in his books he encouraged people to follow the salaf; he also enjoined that
upon his followers. He used to tell people not to follow innovations in religion,
and he stated clearly that he was opposed to the ahl al-kalaam (“Islamic
philosophers”) such as the Ash’aris and their ilk.

There are some minor mistakes
and errors in his books, and some innovations which are relatively insignificant
when compared with his achievements. To find out more about them, along with
an explanation of where he went wrong, please see Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir
al-Jilaani wa Araa’uhu al-I’tidaaqiyyah wa’l-Soofiyyah,
by Shaykh Dr. Sa’eed ibn Musfir al-Qahtaani, 440-476.

Moreover, it is not right to
make one Muslim scholar, let alone anyone else, the sole source of what is true
and correct, in the sense that one takes what he says as being true and what
goes against that as being false – not Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir and
not anyone else. Rather the truth is that which is in accordance with the Qur’aan
and Sunnah, no matter who says it, and what goes against the Qur’aan and
Sunnah should be ignored and avoided, even if it is said by ‘Abd al-Qaadir
al-Jilaani, Maalik, al-Shaafa’i, Ahmad or anyone else.

There is a point which we must
make here, which is that praising Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir does not mean
praising everyone who claims to follow him. Not everyone who claims to follow
a shaykh or a tareeqah or anything else is to be believed. How often has it
happened that a person who is thought to be a true follower turned out to be
the farthest removed from what was thought to be the case? How many misleading
people don the cloak of asceticism and piety when they have nothing to do with
either of them? Hence the Sufi tareeqah which is known nowadays as the Qaadiriyyah
is not following the straight path which the Shaykh (may Allaah have mercy on
him) followed, rather it is a deviant Sufi tareeqah which has deviated from
the guidance of the Qur’aan and Sunnah; it exaggerates a great deal about
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir and even attributes to him things that can only
rightfully be attributed to Allaah. Some of them exaggerate concerning his grave,
seeking help from it, and some of them exaggerate about his attributes and miracles
(karaamah).

By comparing the actions of those
who claim to follow the shaykh with what is narrated in the Qur’aan and
Sunnah, what was narrated from the righteous salaf and even what was narrated
from the Shaykh himself (may Allaah have mercy on him), we will clearly see
that there is a huge gap between the two, and that the Qaadiri group has deviated
from the path of its shaykh whom they claim to be following. That is because
they have introduced so many innovations (bid’ahs) into the religion of
Allaah, that the Shaykh would never have approved of. It has been narrated from
the respectable scholars that they regarded this group as extreme, for example
what was said by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him)
in his refutation of al-Bakri concerning the issue of ziyaarah or visiting graves
(1/228), and in the fatwas of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem Aal al-Shaykh, indicates
that they have committed some actions of shirk.

See: Fataawa Ibn Ibraaheem,
1/276, 109

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,
2/250-252

Al-Durar al-Sunniyyah,
1/74

With regard to the ‘Abd
al-Wahhaab mentioned in the question, perhaps what is meant is Shaykh Muhammad
ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab (may Allaah have mercy on him). If we want to know
more about him, we cannot find anyone who can describe the man better than himself,
because when there is a man concerning whom people’s opinions vary greatly,
with some praising him and some condemning him, we should look at what he says
in his writings and his books, and at what is correctly attributed to him, then
weigh that against the Qur’aan and Sunnah. What Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd
al-Wahhaab said, describing himself, was: “I tell you that– praise
be to Allaah – my belief and my religion, according to which I worship
Allaah, is the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, which was the
way of the imaams of the Muslims, such as the four Imaams and their followers
until the Day of Resurrection. But I explain to people that they must devote
their worship sincerely to Allaah (ikhlaas). I forbid them to call upon the
Prophets and the dead among the righteous and others, and from associating them
with Allaah in any act of worship that should be done for Allaah alone, such
as offering sacrifices, making vows, putting one’s trust, prostrating
and other actions which are due to Allaah and in which no one should be associated
with Him, not any angel who is close to Him or any Prophet who was sent. This
is the Message which was proclaimed by all the Messengers, from the first of
them to the last of them, and this is the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah.
I hold a high position in my village and people listen to me. Some of the leaders
denounced that because it goes against the customs they grew up with. I also
obliged those who are under me to perform regular prayer, pay zakaah and fulfil
other Islamic duties, and I forbade them to deal with ribaa, drink intoxicants
and other kinds of forbidden things. The leaders could not criticize that or
find fault with it, because it is something that is liked by the common folk,
so they directed their criticism and enmity against that which I enjoin of Tawheed
and that which I forbid of shirk, and they confused the common folk by saying
that this goes against what everyone is doing, and they caused a great deal
of fitnah…” (al-Durar al-Sunniyyah, 1/64-65, 79-80)

Any
fair-minded person who studies the books of this man will know that he is one
of those who call people to Allaah with sure knowledge, and that he bore many
difficulties and hardships in order to restore Islam to its pure form, when
it had been altered a great deal at his time, and that was because of his opposition
to the whims and desires of the leaders, who stirred up the ignorant masses
of the common people against him, so that they could continue to enjoy their
positions of worldly leadership and wealth.

I urge you not to be easily influenced
by others with regard to what you listen to and believe. Rather you should be
a seeker of truth, defending it no matter who is promoting it, and I urge you
to avoid falsehood and error no matter who is promoting it. So if you look at
any of the books by this shaykh – and I recommend you to read Kitaab
al-Tawheed alladhi huwa haqq Allaah ‘ala al-‘Abeed [Kitaab
al-Tawheed is available in English translation] – you will find out
how great the Shaykh’s knowledge was, and how important his call is, and
the extent to which his words have been twisted and accusations have been made
against him.

You can see some of the accusations
made against the Shaykh and find out the response to them by clicking on the
following link for information in English,
And this link will give you the information in Arabic:

More importantly, I urge
you to ponder the Qur’aan and Sunnah, to ask trustworthy scholars about
matters concerning which you are confused. Beware of those who follow their
whims and desires, and of shirk in all its forms. If you do that, then the question
of whether Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab (may Allaah have mercy
on him) was right or wrong becomes irrelevant. Moreover you should realize that
it is haraam to violate the honour and reputation of Muslims by saying things
about them in such a manner as to undermine their position, even if what is
said is true – so how about if it is false?

May Allaah help us and you to
follow true guidance and the religion of truth, and to do that which pleases
Him.